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Abstract:

The main subject matter of the present invention is a digital camera (1)
provided with several lenses (2, 4) such that several images are captured
simultaneously, more particularly two images: a main image (8) of the
scene in front of the digital camera (1) and an additional image (9) of
the person operating the digital camera (1). The invention comprises both
digital photographs and digital videos.

Claims:

1.-23. (canceled)

24. A digital camera that includes a primary lens pointing forward that
acquires a primary image of a scene located in front of said digital
camera and includes at least one additional lens pointing in a different
direction that simultaneously acquires an additional image of an area
surrounding the primary image, wherein the camera also includes a means
configured for integrating said additional image onto the primary image
in different layers, creating a single scenery, and where both images are
simultaneously displayed on a display screen.

25. A digital camera in accordance with claim 24, wherein the additional
lens is pointing towards the rear, and in this way acquiring an
additional image of the scene located behind said digital camera.

26. A digital camera in accordance with claim 25, further including a
primary microphone that is pointing forward, which records the sounds of
the scene located in front of said digital camera, and an additional
microphone pointing towards the rear, which records sounds from the scene
located behind the digital camera.

27. A digital camera in accordance with claim 24, wherein the additional
lens is mobile and can be pointed in different directions.

28. A digital camera in accordance with claim 24, further including two
additional lenses pointing to the right and left of the camera so images
are acquired of the scenes located to the right and to the left of the
digital camera.

29. A digital camera in accordance with claim 28, further including two
additional lenses pointing up and down, so images are acquired of the
scenes located above and below the digital camera.

30. A digital camera in accordance with claim 24, further including a GPS
positioning means that allows associating the acquired images to their
location and/or integrate the map into these images.

31. A digital camera in accordance with claim 24, further including a
means for adding a digital signature that allows associating the acquired
images to a digital signature.

32. A digital camera in accordance with claim 24, further including a
means for recognizing images, which recognizes the persons that appear in
the images and associates the acquired images with their names.

33. A digital camera in accordance with claim 24, further including a
means for adding text, which adds text to the acquired images.

34. A digital camera in accordance with claim 24, further including a
processing means that create an image file where the primary image and
the additional image simultaneously appear.

35. A digital camera in accordance with claim 34, wherein the image file
includes smaller sized additional image, which is overlaid on top of the
primary image.

36. A digital camera in accordance with claim 24, wherein it is
integrated inside a mobile phone.

37. An image forming method in the digital camera of claim 24, the method
including the following steps: using a primary lens that is pointing
forward to acquire a primary image of the scene located in front of the
digital camera; using an additional lens, simultaneously acquiring at
least one additional image of a different scene in the area surrounding
the primary image; and creating a single file where each image is stored
in a different layer of said single file.

38. An image forming method in a digital camera in accordance with claim
37, wherein the additional lens obtains an image of the scene located
behind the digital camera.

39. An image forming method in a digital camera in accordance with claim
37, further including the ability of simultaneously displaying both
images.

40. An image forming method in a digital camera in accordance with claim
39, wherein a small sized additional image is shown in front of the
primary image.

41. An image forming method in a digital camera in accordance with claim
40, wherein the secondary image is placed at a corner of the primary
image.

42. An image forming method in a digital camera in accordance with claim
37, further including the following steps: using a primary microphone
that is pointing forward, to record the sounds of the scene located in
front of the digital camera; using an additional microphone to
simultaneously record the sounds of a different scene; and creating a
file where each recorded sound is in a different layer.

43. An image forming method in a digital camera in accordance with claim
37, further including the following steps: using a GPS locating means to
obtain information relating to the location of the acquired image; and
adding an additional layer to the file with this information relating to
the location.

44. An image forming method in a digital camera in accordance with claim
37, further including the following steps: using a means for adding a
digital signature to obtain a digital signature; and adding an additional
layer to the file that includes said digital signature.

45. An image forming method in a digital camera in accordance with claim
37, further including the following steps: using an image recognition
means to obtain the names of the persons appearing in the images; and
adding an additional layer to the file with the names of the persons
appearing in the images.

46. An image forming procedure in a digital camera in accordance with
claim 37, further including the following steps: using a means for adding
text to create text for the acquired images; and adding an additional
layer to the file that includes said text.

Description:

[0001] The main subject matter of the present invention is a digital
camera provided with several lenses such that several images are captured
simultaneously. Another object of the invention is an image making
procedure that creates a folder with an image that simultaneously
includes at least two of the acquired images.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0002] Currently, there are many digital cameras available for taking
photographs or video. These cameras normally have one lens located on one
of its sides and a display screen on the opposite side so the user can
look at the screen and see the image that is being captured by the lens,
which he wishes to acquire. Each time an image is acquired, regardless of
whether these are pictures or digital video, the camera stores these in
an image file that can later be viewed on the camera's display screen or
on a computer screen such as that of a PC or similar device. A great
advantage of these cameras is the ease with which image files are created
and deleted, which can be carried out at virtually no cost. However,
sometimes the acquired images are not able to portray an accurate idea of
what wants to be transmitted to a person that is at a different location.
Also, in the specific case of videos, frequently, the person that records
the video adds his own comments, which are recorded as an off voice
without being able to see or know who the person making the commentary
is.

[0003] Document US2008/0031606 describes an electronic device that
includes a camera capturing the front and another one capturing the rear
or the sides in a mobile assembly. However, this configuration is
designed for video-conferencing, where the secondary camera displays the
image of the person giving the video conference on the listener's device
and not on the device itself. Likewise, said document does not describe
any means or possibility of integrating the images of the main camera and
the image captured by the secondary camera onto a single image with
different layers, in such a way so the photograph and the photographer
can be identified in a single file.

[0004] The presence of two cameras in most of the mobile phones that are
currently available does not necessarily imply that these have the
capability of simultaneously capturing images with similar quality
characteristics, much less that said telephones include means for
unifying both photographs into a single file and therefore do not meet
the desired object of identifying the captured primary image by means of
the secondary image.

[0005] Other documents such as US2002/0083323 describe a method for
identifying the photographer by including his digital signature with the
photograph itself. The problem with this is that said digital signature
is associated with the camera and under normal usage; different
photographers could use the same camera without being accurately
identified. Document EP1863266 describes a photographic camera that is
capable of integrating GPS coordinates onto the photograph itself.
Document EP1818855 describes a facial identification system using
infrared technology incorporated onto a mobile phone or other similar
device that includes a camera.

[0006] In general, none of the documents found in the state of the art
describes a photographic camera or electronic device that contains the
method described herein, where using two cameras allows one to
simultaneously capture two images of the same scene and joining both
images into a single file afterwards.

DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0007] A first aspect of the invention is therefore focused on a digital
camera that includes a primary lens pointing forward that acquires images
of a main scene located in front of said digital camera. Additionally,
the digital camera described in the invention includes at least an
additional lens that simultaneously takes images of an additional scene;
all of this within a single "scenery", which includes a primary and a
secondary scene.

[0008] In other words, the additional lens is pointing in a direction that
is different than the primary lens. Additionally, both images are
simultaneously displayed on a screen, which may be the screen that is
typically included with current digital cameras, or in the case of a
mobile phone, the mobile phone's screen.

[0009] In this document, the word "image" must be interpreted broadly, so
when stating that an image is acquired, the intention is to reference a
fixed image; in other words, a digital picture as well as a video. This
way, the digital camera described in the invention simultaneously takes
images of the primary scene and of various scenes in the surrounding
area, which are then used to create a single and improved image file. In
a preferred embodiment of the invention, the additional lens is pointing
towards the rear, and in this way, acquires images of the scene located
behind said digital camera. Therefore, if the digital camera is used in
the normal way, images of the person handling the camera will be taken.

[0010] This solves the technical problems derived from the lack of
photograph and/or photographer identification by adding a secondary image
to the primary image, where this primary image is identified by the
secondary, which belongs to the same scenery, although they belong to
different scenes.

[0011] In another preferred embodiment of the invention, primarily focused
on video images, the digital camera described in this invention also
includes a primary microphone, which records the sounds of the scene
located in front of said digital camera and an additional microphone,
which records the sounds of the scene located behind the digital camera.
It is understood that the primary microphone will normally be facing
towards the front and at a forward position, while the additional
microphone will normally be facing towards the rear and at a backwards
position.

[0012] Another preferred embodiment of the digital camera described in
this invention includes a mobile lens that can be pointed in different
directions. The user can capture images of the scene located in front of
the digital camera as well as acquire images of any other area by
pointing the mobile lens to that other desired area.

[0013] In yet another preferred embodiment, the digital camera includes
two additional lenses pointing to the right and left sides of the digital
camera. This way, the information obtained is much greater since not only
is a picture taken or recorded of the scene in front of the camera but
also, of what is happening at both sides (for example, the ocean or a
sunset). In another preferred embodiment of the invention, the camera
includes two other additional lens pointing upward and downward, in this
way capturing what is occurring above the scene (for example, the sky)
and below (for example, the sand of a beach).

[0014] Other preferred embodiments of the invention, which provide
numerous advantages as compared with the digital cameras that currently
exist, are described below. In general, these advantages are obtained
from fundamentally providing the user with tools that enable him to add
information or modify the acquired images from the camera itself, instead
of having to do so afterwards, using an additional image editing
software.

[0015] This way, in a preferred embodiment, the digital camera also
includes a GPS positioning means, which enables the user to associate the
acquired images with their location. The information regarding the
location of the images can be added in different ways for example, in the
name of the image file, overlaid on top of the images, etc. In accordance
with another embodiment of the invention, the digital camera also
includes a means for adding the digital signature, which enables the user
to associate the acquired images to a digital signature. The photographs
or videos are downloaded directly from the camera with the digital
signature already added.

[0016] In another particular embodiment, the digital camera also includes
an image recognition means, which recognizes the people that appear in
the images and associates the acquired images with their names, and in
this way, enabling the user to subsequently classify the images by the
names of the people that appear in them, of the person taking the
photographs or recording the images, etc.

[0017] In another embodiment of the invention, the digital camera also
includes a text insertion means that adds text to the acquired images.
This item enables the user to easily add comments or subtitles to the
images. Also, in accordance with a second preferred embodiment of the
invention, an image forming procedure is described in a digital camera of
the type described above, characterized because it includes the following
procedures:

[0018] a) Acquire, using a primary lens, a first image of the scene
located in front of the digital camera. This is the lens that digital
cameras normally incorporate.

[0019] b) Using an additional lens, simultaneously acquire at least one
additional image of a different scene.

[0020] c) Create a file where each image is stored in a different layer.
The created file will be an image file similar to any of the types of
image files that are currently used, and since they are divided into
layers, they can be separately edited, modified, etc.

[0021] In a particular embodiment, the additional lens is pointing towards
the rear of the camera, obtaining images of the person that is operating
the camera. Preferably, the primary and additional images are
simultaneously displayed in the image file that has been created. Even
more preferably, a smaller size of the additional image is displayed in
the image file overlaid in front of the primary image. In this document,
small size is defined as a size that is approximately ten times smaller
than the surface of the primary image. Also, in another embodiment of the
invention, the additional image is placed at a corner of the primary
image, exactly at the corner or a bit separated from the edges. Also, in
the particular case of acquiring video images, the procedure of this
invention preferably involves recording the sounds of the scene located
in front of the digital camera using a primary microphone, and
simultaneously recording the sounds of different scenes using an
additional microphone. Preferably, this additional scene is located
behind the digital camera so the voice of the person that is operating
the camera is being recorded. This way, comments or explanations about
the scene that are being recorded can be added. Once acquired, these
sound files are stored in the image file in different layers. Evidently,
the sounds of the scene located in front of the camera should be
associated in some way to the images of said scene, in other words, those
images acquired by the primary lens, while the sound corresponding to the
comments of the person handling the camera should be associated with the
images obtained by the additional lens. An additional preferred
embodiment of the procedure includes the obtaining of information
regarding the location of the acquired image using GPS, and adding this
information as another layer to the image file that has been created. In
another preferred embodiment, a digital signature is obtained using a
means for adding a digital signature, which is added as another layer to
the image file. Finally, in another preferred embodiment, an image
recognition means is used to obtain the names of the persons that appear
in the images, which are added to the image file in a new layer. A
digital camera as the one described could be integrated for example, in a
mobile phone.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0022] To complement the description that is being carried out and for the
purpose of better understanding the characteristics of the invention; in
accordance with a preferred example for carrying it out in a practical
way, a set of drawings are provided along with their description, which
represent the following in an illustrative but not a limiting fashion:

[0023] FIG. 1.--Shows a three-dimensional front view of the digital camera
described in this invention.

[0024] FIG. 2.--Shows a three-dimensional rear view of the digital camera
described in this invention.

[0025] FIG. 3.--Shows a side view of the digital camera described in this
invention, where you can see the location of the primary lens and an
additional lens.

[0026] FIG. 4.--Shows a person using the digital camera described in this
invention.

[0027]FIG. 5.--Shows an image obtained with the digital camera of FIG. 4.

[0028]FIG. 6.--Shows a diagram of the parts that comprise the digital
camera described in this invention in accordance with a particular
embodiment.

PREFERRED EMBODIMENT OF THE INVENTION

[0029] An example of the preferred embodiment of the invention that is
specifically focused on taking digital photographs is described below.
Any expert in the matter will understand that the operation of a digital
video camera would essentially be the same as described below. FIGS. 1, 2
and 3 show different views of a digital camera (1) in accordance with
this invention. These figures show a primary lens (2) and a display
screen (3), which are common in these types of devices. In this example,
the digital camera (1) described in the invention also includes an
additional lens (4) pointing in the opposite direction of the primary
lens (2). The additional lens (4) is especially designed for obtaining
clear images of the person that is operating the camera, using as a
reference the position in which an average user would be operating it,
positioning the camera in front of the eyes and at a distance between 25
cm and 50 cm. FIG. 4 shows a photographer (5) taking a photograph of two
other people (6, 7). We can see how the digital camera (1) described in
this invention simultaneously acquires an image of the photographer (5)
and the two persons (6, 7). Using the procedure described in this
invention, the digital camera (1) creates an image file that is shown in
FIG. 5, and where the larger sized primary image (8) shows the two
persons (6, 7) acting as models, while a smaller sized additional image
(9) shows the face of the photographer (5) at the moment in which the
picture was taken. Finally, FIG. 6 shows a diagram of the digital camera
(1) described in this invention, which shows the different parts that
comprise it. A processing means (10) processes all the data obtained from
the rest of the components. A storage means (11) is also shown. The
components are the following: [0030] A GPS positioning (12) means,
which obtains information regarding the location of the digital camera
(1) when the image is acquired and adds this information to the created
image file as a different layer. According to the user's preferences, the
name or position of the place where the images where acquired can be
added in different ways like for example, in the file name, as overlaid
text, etc. [0031] A means for adding a digital signature (13), which adds
the digital signature for example, of the photographer (5) to an
additional layer of the image. [0032] An image recognition (14) means
that is capable of analyzing the acquired images and of recognizing the
persons that appear in them. Once the persons are identified, the user
can assign a name to each one, which will be stored in the storage means
(11).

[0033] Thus, for each acquired image, the image recognition means (14)
will carry out a search of the persons, including the photographer (5)
and will add these to a new layer of the created image file. This allows
organizing the images afterwards according to the persons appearing in
them. For example, only the images taken by a specific photographer (5)
could be selected, or only those images in which a specific person
appears in the primary image (8). [0034] A text addition means (15),
which is used to add text to the acquired images. In the particular case
of the example, which refers to digital photographs, a comment may be
added as a footnote: "Vacation in the Alps". In the case of video images,
different texts could be added sequentially like subtitles of the story
that is taking place in front of the camera.